ETL Electrical Safety Listings

ETL Testing Laboratories, originally organized by the Edison Illuminating Companies, has been conducting electrical performance and reliability tests since 1896. Intertek Testing Services (Intertek), which acquired ETL Testing Laboratories from Inchcape in 1996, is recognized by OSHA as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) just as Underwriters Laboratories (UL), Canadian Standards Association (CSA) and several other independent organizations are recognized.

A federal law passed in 1988 established the NRTL program to eliminate provisions that explicitly required or implied that product certification be performed only by standard-writing companies such as UL. Since each NRTL must meet the same OSHA requirements of competency, NRTLs recognized for the same product safety test standard are considered as equivalent in their capability to certify to that standard.

This program has allowed competing organizations, such as ETL, into this previously exclusive certification arena and given manufacturers options and bargaining power to drive competitive costs and delivery. Intertek uses the ETL mark to signify that a product conforms to UL 61010A-1 or UL 61010-1 in the US and CAN/CSA C22.2 No. 1010.1 or CAN/CSA C22.2 No. 61010-1 in Canada. Products that bear the ETL mark are subjected to a comprehensive safety program that includes testing, listing, labeling and quarterly follow-up inspections.

For more information on ETL, visit its website at intertek.com.